In a study of implicit learning of an artificial L2 morphosyntactic rule, 65 adult native speakers of English were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: incidental, intentional, or control. Participants in the experimental conditions were trained on sentences containing a determiner phrase,… read more
Developed since the early 1980s, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is informed by theory and research findings in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), as well as general educational theory and practice, and responds to the growing demand for language programs tailored for learners with… read more
Opinions differ as to the implications of research findings on sensitive periods in language learning – and more generally, on age effects – for educational policy and practice. This is true even among those convinced of relationships among age of beginning a foreign language, rate of development,… read more
Claims for a biologically based schedule for language learning were first advanced 50 years ago. 100+ studies later, debates continue as to the existence, scope and timing of one or more sensitive periods for SLA. At least eight reasons can be identified for the lack of consensus, several of which… read more
Choice of the unit of analysis in syllabus design is crucial for all aspects of a language teaching program. A variety of units, including word, structure, notion, function, topic, and situation, continue to be employed in synthetic, Type A, syllabuses. While each is relevant for analyses of the… read more
Dissatisfaction with conventional linguistically-based syllabuses, along with a growing understanding from research findings of how people learn second (including foreign) languages, has led since the 1980s to a number of proposals for various kinds of task-based alternatives. Examples include the… read more